Prospective students

We are delighted that you have decided to study at our university! To make sure things run as smoothly as possible for you, we would like to give you a few tips on how best to prepare for studying here and for your future life as a student in Leipzig.

When you apply

Depending on what type of degree you’ll be studying for at our university, certain admission requirements and application procedures apply.

Before submitting your documents, please refer to the guidelines on official certification and sworn translations on the uni-assist website. These guidelines apply to all applicant groups and are valid even if you have not applied via uni-assist.

TestAS is a central, standardised aptitude test for foreign students. If you wish to enrol on one of our university’s degree programmes with restrictions on admission, you must have good or excellent grades. In the case of undergraduate programmes (bachelor’s, Diplom, State Examination), the average grade of your higher education entrance qualification (Hochschulzugangsberechtigung or HZB) is relevant. By taking TestAS, you have the opportunity to improve this grade and increase your chances of being admitted to the first semester of study on a restricted programme. Unfortunately, TestAS cannot be considered for applications to the Studienkolleg (preparatory course).

The percentile rank for this bonus may be adjusted depending on the number of applicants. For more information, please refer to the TestAS website.

TestAS results can only be credited for undergraduate programmes (bachelor’s, Diplom, State Examination) with admission restrictions.

The Preparing for your studies page provides information about which language preparation options are available for prospective students from abroad.

Organising your stay

Which visa do I need? What is the best way to get to Leipzig? What costs can I expect and how can I afford them? We have a range of services and information to help you organise your life at university.

The following can enter Germany without a visa: students from the European Union, the European Economic Area and some other countries.

The following require a student visa: all other students, especially those intending to stay in Germany for longer than three months.

Make sure you check the entry requirements for your country in advance. This information can be found on the website of the Federal Foreign Office. Information is also available from the German missions in your home country.

As soon as you have arrived in Germany, please present your three-month visa to the Foreigners’ Authority (Ausländerbehörde) in Leipzig and apply for a student residence permit (Aufenthaltserlaubnis zu Studienzwecken).

A visa for Germany is always issued for a specific purpose. As a student you apply for either a student visa or a student applicant visa.

To apply, please contact the German embassy or consulate general in your home country. Under no circumstances should you enter the country on a tourist visa only. You will not be able to convert it into the necessary student residence permit once you are in Germany.

How do I apply for a visa?

To apply for a visa you need:

a valid passport;

your letter of admission from our university or a confirmation of your application to uni-assist;

if you have already been offered a place, you can apply for a student visa directly.

if you have already applied but not yet been offered a place, you can apply for a student applicant visa (Studienbewerbervisum). As proof you can use the confirmation of receipt or the review report that you received from uni-assist when applying.

proof that you can finance your studies. You have two options for this:

paying for yourself: this requires a deposit of currently at least 8640 euros for one academic year (equivalent to two semesters) into a German bank account (blocked account), with the restriction that you may not withdraw more than 720 euros per month. A bank account can also be set up in your home country by a German bank. Further financing must be shown plausibly by submitting suitable documents.

declaration of commitment: the declaration of commitment (Verpflichtungserklärung) must be applied for at the German mission in your home country before you enter Germany. By signing, the person submitting the declaration of commitment is liable for the person entering the country. The former undertakes to pay the cost of living (food, clothing, housing, care in the event of sickness and disability). This commitment is in principle irrevocable and applies for the entire duration of the student’s stay.

For more information you can also contact the German embassy or consulate general in your home country.

Visa requirements for non-EU citizens enrolled at a university in the EU

Non-EU citizens enrolled at a university in an EU country (except the United Kingdom, Ireland and Denmark) no longer necessarily require a German residence permit if they are planning to stay in Germany for fewer than 360 days for the purpose of studying. This is in accordance with EU Directive 2016/801, known as the REST Directive for researchers and students.

As soon as you have received your letter of admission, please contact our International Centre. As the host university, we must submit an application for mobility to the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF), which must be approved before you arrive.

To do this, please send us scans of the following documents in an email with the word “REST” in the subject line:

Semester fee

You must pay the semester fee on time before the start of each semester. It applies to all students at our university, including doctoral candidates and attendees of the Studienkolleg Sachsen.

Tuition fees

Leipzig University does not currently charge tuition fees for a student’s first degree. Please note, however, that in certain cases students may be required to pay fees for a second degree or for exceeding the standard period of study by too long. Fees are also charged for some special courses and the DSH course.

Monthly costs

You will need around 720 euros per month to cover the cost of living in Leipzig. This amount is of course a guideline; your actual outgoings will depend on your spending habits.

Average monthly costs in Leipzig consist of the following:

Rent for apartment/room

€150–€425

Health insurance

€90

Study material

€50

Food, clothing, miscellaneous

€250

If you require a visa, then you will already need to provide proof that you have enough money to live here when applying for the visa in your home country.

One-off costs

In addition to the monthly costs, you should expect additional one-off costs at the start of your studies, such as a deposit for your accommodation and the fee for setting up a blocked account. You should therefore budget for approximately €750 more for getting started in Leipzig.

If you would like to live together with other German and foreign students in a hall of residence run by the Studentenwerk Leipzig, you can apply for a room using the online form.

Rental agreements for the halls of residence are usually concluded for at least one year. Please contact the Studentenwerk Leipzig directly with any questions concerning halls of residence.

As soon as you have been offered a place at our university, you can apply to the Studentenwerk Leipzig for a room in a hall of residence.

Shared apartments

Known in German as Wohngemeinschaften or WGs, flat-shares are particularly popular among students in Leipzig. The following are some of the best-known services for finding a room in a Wohngemeinschaft:

WG-Gesucht: students who are going abroad, for example, advertise their vacant WG rooms. These rooms are often offered completely furnished and on a temporary basis.

“Schwarze Bretter”: noticeboards where students advertise various things, including their furnished and unfurnished rooms. These boards can be found in various university buildings and on the online portal.

Be sure to allow enough time to search for an apartment.

A deposit is often required when renting an apartment. This is usually the equivalent of one to two months’ rent, excluding ancillary costs, which is paid into a savings account. When the rental agreement ends, your deposit will be refunded – as long as you return the apartment undamaged.

Deutsche Bahn trains run regularly between the airport and Leipzig’s Central Station.

There are direct flights to Leipzig/Halle from airports such as Frankfurt, Munich, Stuttgart, Cologne/Bonn, Düsseldorf, Zurich, Vienna, Istanbul and London Stansted.

Airlines offer daily worldwide connections to and from Leipzig/Halle.

The airports in Berlin, Munich, Frankfurt am Main and Hanover are also easily accessible from Leipzig. There are rail and coach services between these cities and Leipzig.

By train

InterCity and InterCityExpress trains (IC/ICE) run by Deutsche Bahn connect Leipzig with most major European cities.

Located in the heart of the city, Leipzig’s Central Station is among the largest and most awe-inspiring train stations in Germany. There are many regional and suburban railway connections linking Leipzig with the surrounding area.

By coach

The coach terminal is right next to the Central Station in the middle of Leipzig.

From here you can use coach links to other German and European cities, for example on services offered by Mein Fernbus.

By car

You can reach Leipzig via the A9 (Berlin–Nuremberg) and A14 (Halle–Dresden) autobahns.